Wonderland v/s DDP

[bwolfe]

We have an annual pass...would we be better off to buy the Tables in Wonderland card or the Deluxe Dining Plan...2 adults 3 kids (10, 8, 6)

Thanks!

 

[Raenstoirm]

It really depends on how you eat (and drink). For us it is NEVER a good deal to get the dining plan. We saved about $20 last trip with TIW (above and beyond the cost of the TiW card.) So our next trip it will be pure "profit" to use it.
If you have the time, I would look at your ADRs and menus and estimate what you would order and get your answer that way.

 

[doconeill]

You have to do the math for yourself. What kind of meals would you eat? How many would be Table Service? Do you drink alcohol? etc. etc.

Then which dining plan would you choose?

Here is what I did last time - I looked at our trip, and figured out what meals we would normally get for that trip. Then what meals we would typically get, and added it all up (fairly recent menus with prices are available online).

Then I figured out what portion of those were covered by the TIW card that weren't already covered by the AP and/or DVC, and figured out the costs for those specifically. If that came out to more than $375 before discount, then I would come out ahead with the TIW card.

Then I looked at the standard DDP (1TS, 1QS, 1 Snack). I figured out what adjustments I would have to make to use it, and the cost. If that came out to be less than what I figured out before, the DDP would make sense.

Then I compared the two - applied the 20% discount to the eligible meals with TIW, and compared the total for everything against the DDP cost, and figured out which is better.

In our case, the DDP didn't make any sense as the planned meals worked out less, especially since we didn't have as many TS meals planned anyways. Sure we could have added the TS meals, but that meant spending more money to save a little.

Plus, if you can get another trip out of the TIW card before it expires, its even better.

 

[bcrook]

I have crunched the numbers over and over again for the past 10 years, and I can never find a way to make the DDP work for me. TIW works best for our family. We are given the freedom order what we want, the discount applies to our alcohol, and it is a great deal in AK - you can use it at some of the counter services. Happy planning!

 

[bytheblood]

We do not always want dessert after dinner and sometimes we want a small dinner....TIW is a better deal for us for sure. For us, the DDP is a waste of money.

 

[matt and beth]

We have literally saved in the hundreds on each trip using TIW over DDP

The keys to our success:

1. Eat table service for lunch instead of dinner. Table service is typically less at lunch time over dinner.

2. For the reasons above use your quick service for dinner. Not a bad idea since your patience meter is at zero by the end of the day and you do not want to wait on your meal.

3. Research that some quick serve accepts the TIW. Such as pizzafari or flame tree barbecue.

4. Do you really need dessert every single meal? You can really save here. Especially those nasty quick serve desserts.

5. TIW covers alcohol beverages. Not to shabby...

6. Lastly, rarely thought of idea, but since DDP covers most items on the menu subconsciously you buy expensive items on the menu. Next you wind up tipping 18% on some crazy total. I have found myself tipping in excess of thirty dollars for a family of five. Yikes! With TIW you are more aware of what you spending on your meal.

We followed this guideline to a tee once and found we saved close to $600 for a twelve day stay once you figure in all the tips and tax.

 

[bcrook]

We have literally saved in the hundreds on each trip using TIW over DDP

The keys to our success:

1. Eat table service for lunch instead of dinner. Table service is typically less at lunch time over dinner.

2. For the reasons above use your quick service for dinner. Not a bad idea since your patience meter is at zero by the end of the day and you do not want to wait on your meal.

3. Research that some quick serve accepts the TIW. Such as pizzafari or flame tree barbecue.

4. Do you really need dessert every single meal? You can really save here. Especially those nasty quick serve desserts.

5. TIW covers alcohol beverages. Not to shabby...

6. Lastly, rarely thought of idea, but since DDP covers most items on the menu subconsciously you buy expensive items on the menu. Next you wind up tipping 18% on some crazy total. I have found myself tipping in excess of thirty dollars for a family of five. Yikes! With TIW you are more aware of what you spending on your meal.

We followed this guideline to a tee once and found we saved close to $600 for a twelve day stay once you figure in all the tips and tax.

That is a very good point. And you can go to the less expensive restaurants because you don't feel like you have to "get your moneys worth".

 

[Suellen]

We also learned on our last tripmthat you don't have to order the kids meals at the ts - you can order just the kids entree. We mainly figured it out because our kids prefer water and ordered it at our first table service - kids meal was only 4.99.

I now prefer the TIW after our first trip with it - we saved a lot of money in tips. Pluse we weren't leaving massive amounts of food on the table. If imwanted just an appetizer and a dessert - I ordered just that. We ate at both Tony's and Mama Mia's for around $45 including tax and tip for two kids and two adults! Had we had the ddp (we usually do deluxe) we would have paid $25 in tip alone never mind the cost of the dining plan.

Plus I could have my dessert later in the day when I was actually hungry for it!

 

[suemom2kay]

We have literally saved in the hundreds on each trip using TIW over DDP

The keys to our success:

1. Eat table service for lunch instead of dinner. Table service is typically less at lunch time over dinner.

2. For the reasons above use your quick service for dinner. Not a bad idea since your patience meter is at zero by the end of the day and you do not want to wait on your meal.

3. Research that some quick serve accepts the TIW. Such as pizzafari or flame tree barbecue.

4. Do you really need dessert every single meal? You can really save here. Especially those nasty quick serve desserts.

5. TIW covers alcohol beverages. Not to shabby...

6. Lastly, rarely thought of idea, but since DDP covers most items on the menu subconsciously you buy expensive items on the menu. Next you wind up tipping 18% on some crazy total. I have found myself tipping in excess of thirty dollars for a family of five. Yikes! With TIW you are more aware of what you spending on your meal.

We followed this guideline to a tee once and found we saved close to $600 for a twelve day stay once you figure in all the tips and tax.

DITTO!!! We saved over $700 on our 12 day trip with the TiW card using the same tips as above. Love our TiW card; Dining plan irked me with all of its restrictions and it gets less cost effective, more profite effective every year!

 

[bwolfe]

Thanks for all the great information...that's one of the reasons I love this site!

 

[Couchy]

DH and I love TIW. We sometimes just split an app and entree. We never both get a dessert and with TIW we get the discount on adult beverages

It works so much better for us

 

[bwolfe]

I thought that I was good at "Disney" Math, but maybe not...I've run the numbers, and it looks like the dining plan is a better deal for us. Maybe it's because a lot of our meals are Character buffets with a fixed price. I'll run it all again...Thanks for all the great input.

 

[Suellen]

Which DDP are you looking at? Regular? or Deluxe?

I think this time we will do Quick Service Dining and use our TIW for our extra meals.

Will you go back again in the next 13 months? If not then TIW may NOT be best for you.

 

[doconeill]

I actually didn't think the buffets worked well with the DDP...they seemed to be lower in cost that what I typically chose for a menu meal.

 

[BrerNashville]

I actually didn't think the buffets worked well with the DDP...they seemed to be lower in cost that what I typically chose for a menu meal.

I think it's the $25 they charge my four year old to eat cafeteria food while hanging with Mickey that can make the DDP a decent deal if you are going for a short time with kids. When they let you split stay on the DVC, that was what I used my DDP days for.

EDIT: Other than that situation (and I have three kids, none of whom really like to eat much), I have always found the TIW card to be the better deal.

 

[bcrook]

I thought that I was good at "Disney" Math, but maybe not...I've run the numbers, and it looks like the dining plan is a better deal for us. Maybe it's because a lot of our meals are Character buffets with a fixed price. I'll run it all again...Thanks for all the great input.

Part of the reason is WDW increased all the prices of the buffets to ludicrously high prices, so the dining plan looks like a reasonable offer. I am now passing on the buffets and eating at other locations, using my TIW card, and saving a lot of money. Basically with the Dining plan I would be pre-paying for extremely overpriced buffet food or desserts and meals I don't necessarily want. With the TIW card, I can order what I want and get the discount.

For example, Cape May Dinner would cost my family of 4 almost $200.00 now, but we can all eat at Rose and Crown for $80.00-$90.00.

 

[PixieDustFanatic]

TIW is a much better deal for my family. We don't eat desserts and I don't feel like I have to get my money's worth. I find myself eating healthier and in smaller amounts with TIW!

 

[disney55]

We use the deluxe plan 4 adults 1 child and 1 under 3. We stay 8- 10 days at BLT, arriving early 1st day and leave late last day. We do our share of character meals, room service, signatures, counters and even a few in the room breakfasts.
The first 3 times we used it I kept track of every charge and each time we reached what I paid for the plan by the 5th day. That said If we didn't stay where we do, I'm not sure we would use the plan because it would take too much time to get to the restaurants.
We had a great gathering back in 2008 and stayed at POP with free regular dining... Hated getting to the TS...had to take a bus to a bus to the resort. TIW is not an option for us so that is moot. Make no mistake it is a lot of food, and can be a lot of time depending where you stay IMO.